Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky
promised this Saturday that his country will defeat Russian forces, two years after the invasion launched by Moscow.
"We have been fighting for this for 730 days of our lives. And we will win,"
said the president, flanked by four Western leaders, at an open-air event at Gostomel airport, near Kiev.
"Any normal person wants the war to end. But
no one will allow Ukraine to end
," he said, emphasizing that the war must end "with our terms" and a "just" peace.
The Ukrainian president spoke these words flanked by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the prime ministers of Canada, Italy and Belgium, Justin Trudeau, Giorgia Meloni and Alexander de Croo respectively, visiting Kiev for the anniversary.
At the same event, Zelensky presented medals to soldiers at the Gostomel airport, attacked by Russia in the first days of the invasion in February 2022.
"Two years ago we confronted the enemy here with fire; two years later, we welcomed our friends and partners," the Ukrainian president said, referring to his Western allies.
"We believe that Ukraine also fights for our freedom and for our national interest," Meloni, who plans to sign a bilateral security agreement with President Zelensky, told the press this Saturday.
Following the UK in January, kyiv signed similar agreements with Germany, France and Denmark.
These agreements aim at the delivery of military equipment, the training of Ukrainian forces and the strengthening of the defense industry of the former Soviet republic.
News in development
DP